The series HM 340 I and series HM 355 and HM 360 rotary microtome of the Mikrom company encompasses a large-volume section collection pan. The section collection pan possesses a base outline which is substantially wider than the base outline of the rotary microtome. The section collection pan has beveled outer surfaces that serve as armrests for a user. The knife holder comprises a plurality of clamping levers for clamping and adjusting the knife. The plurality of clamping levers arranged on the knife holder is on the one hand disadvantageous because they can become contaminated by excess thin sections during cutting. The section collection pan having the beveled armrests furthermore requires a great deal of installation space on a laboratory bench, which is detrimental to the compact installation necessary in a routine-analysis laboratory.
A further rotary microtome is disclosed in Patent No. DE 42 05 257 C2. The rotary microtome is equipped with a base part on which a microtome housing and a knife holder are arranged. A pan for the reception of thin sections of a thin-section sample is provided, the pan comprising two side parts spaced apart from one another, and a front part joining the side parts, which together form a pan having a U-shaped base area. The pan having the U-shaped base area is adapted to surround the knife holder on three sides, and the side parts terminate externally at least approximately flush with the microtome housing. Although the space necessary for installation of the rotary microtome is thereby reduced to a minimum, the knife holder nevertheless encompasses a plurality of clamping parts that can be contaminated by thin sections upon utilization of the rotary microtome. This entails an increased cleaning outlay for the rotary microtome and for the section collection pan provided on the rotary microtome.